The Transcontinental Railroad 1869

The first coast to coast railroad was finished in 1869 at Promontory Point, Utah. Two railroad companies named Union Pacific and Central Pacific, both started from separate parts of the country. The Union Pacific started building in Omaha, Nebraska, and the Central Pacific started in Sacramento, CA. Both companies were competeing to see who could build tracks to the middle more quickly. Chinese workers built from the west side, and Irish built from the east side. When the two sides met Leland Stanford, the governor of California, hammered in the golden spike to show the end of the project. The transcontinental railroad allows people allows people to travel from coast to coast and transports goods.